Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP announces that a longtime Washington, D.C., attorney with experience in bank regulatory, consumer finance, and payments systems matters has joined the Firm’s growing financial services practice.
Dwight Smith joins the Firm’s Washington, D.C., office as a partner to counsel clients on financial and regulatory issues, including duties and obligations arising from the government’s response to the financial crisis.
“Dwight Smith will be a key addition to our growing financial services practice, not only in our traditional community bank and investment bank practices, but also in our payments systems and credit card practices,” said Jon Talcott, head of the Nelson Mullins corporate practice group and a partner in the Firm’s D.C. office.
“The Nelson Mullins financial services practice will benefit from the experience and knowledge of Dwight Smith,” said Neil Grayson, head of the Firm’s financial services corporate and regulatory practice. “Banks throughout the nation require regulatory advice with authority and integrity, and Dwight adds depth to our regulatory and payment systems practices.”
A former Deputy Chief Counsel for Business Transactions at the Office of Thrift Supervision, Mr. Smith began his banking work during the savings and loan crisis and its resolution during the late 1980s and early 1990s, experience that set the stage for his practice during the recent financial crisis and its aftermath. During more stable periods in the industry, he has advised on both the institutional and consumer sides of banking. His clients include community, regional, and large banks and thrifts in all areas of the country, as well as non-bank consumer finance companies and other financial services companies.
Mr. Smith counsels clients on both the wholesale and retail sides of banking. He advises clients on such structural issues as public and private securities offerings, including bank recapitalizations, mergers, new lines of business, and new capital and Dodd-Frank requirements. He also counsels directors on their duties and other corporate governance matters. He provides advice on federal and state laws (including the preemption doctrine) that govern such consumer financial services activities as credit card programs and payments systems, mortgage lending, and consumer and payday lending. He represents both individuals and institutions in formal enforcement proceedings. Other areas of his work include compliance obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act, the Community Reinvestment Act, and federal and state privacy statutes.
Mr. Smith earned his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1981 and his Bachelor of Arts from Yale College in 1977.
